what are some tools I can use to get an idea if my seo is improving? Besides just hits - which can be seen through google analytics. Where can I see how I rank? overall? keywords? etc. And how long does it take to get noticed by Alexa etc...
Hi, Here's a free SEO Page Checker which will show you facts on the most important onpage elements. Here a free way to increase your Alexa ranking instantly & here's why your Alexa ranking doesn't matter. I am building an automated ranking positions checker but it isn't ready for public consumption yet. PM me if you want to beta test it.
Use Firefox & install the SEO for Firefox plugin or the SEOQuake plugin. Both provide you a wealth of information.
I can recommend SEOQuake as well. It is hard to asses the competiotion witout it. Free Google monitor is a good tool to check and compare positions. I also use the Pro tools given by SEOMoz. They are not free but well worth the cost.
If you've submitted to the search machines or created a few links, indexing might be in a few hours, a couple of days at the most. For ranking you'll have to wait a little bit more, until Google refreshes the PR (expect a minimum of 3 months). But honestly, you expected to get results of your SEO efforts on a brand-new site that has not even been indexed yet?